BDS at Brooklyn College: the Benefits of Pro-Israel Overkill

On February 7, Omar Barghouti and Judith Butler defended the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment (BDS) movement in front of an audience of over 200 at Brooklyn College. Far more than 200 people have heard about it, because the college’s decision to host the talk was publicly denounced by renowned lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and other Jewish supremacists, using their customary hyperbole. For example:

Hate orgy… second holocaust… hostility towards the vast majority of Jewish students at BC who identify with the Jewish state… the department’s sponsorship serves to condone and legitimize anti-Jewish bigotry… a hostile environment for Jewish students on our campus.

Jewish students oppose the meeting

As a result, it got a lot more publicity than if he’d left it alone. This led a columnist in Israeli newspaper Haaretz to complain about “the perils of pro-Israel overkill”:

Overzealous Israel defenders used a five-megaton bomb to swat a fly, and it blew up in our faces. But Brooklyn is only a harbinger of nasty things to come. (haaretz)

He’s accusing Dershowitz of making a tactical mistake. But, though the Dersh may be accused of many things, no-one ever said he is dumb. The columnist may not realize it, but I suspect Dershowitz does – over-the-top attacks benefit Zionism. They move Israel’s goalposts closer together, making it look as if people like Barghouti are militant opponents of Jewish supremacy, strengthening their effectiveness within the Palestine solidarity movement.

Now thousands of people have heard about Barghouti and Butler’s brave stand against censorship. What most of them haven’t heard about is the BDS movement’s quiet abandonment of the right of return for the Palestinians. Without consulting its affiliates, the movement changed the wording of its mission statement from demanding that Israel ends

This recognizes the legitimacy of the Jewish state within its 1967 borders. It means rejecting the right of return for all those expelled since 1948, and their descendants. It means accepting the fruits of the Deir Yassin massacre and numerous others. It means capitulation to Jewish racial supremacy.

Another thing many of those who have heard about the Butler/Barghouti Brooklyn BDS bash may not realize, is that Barghouti tries to stop them hearing what Gilad Atzmon and his supporters have to say. His claim “we are witnessing the rise of a new McCarthyism” is an example of the ethnic strategy known as chutzpah – hypocrisy so brazen it takes your breath away – and he’s Palestinian!

The BDS movement has become another racket, like “Jewish Voice for Peace”, “Jews for the Boycott of Israeli Goods”, and the rest

by denouncing “the occupation”, which means Israel’s gains in 1967, which sneakily implies that ethnic cleansing up until then was legitimate

by trying to stop discussion of Jewish power, the Holocaust, and everything else which makes them feel uncomfortable

by spreading lies about more intransigent solidarity activists, trying to prevent them speaking, or get them fired

Palestinian students for free speech

River toSeaUprooted PalestinianThe views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!